If you’re single, put your hands up

For some, the pressure to have a date on Valentine’s Day weighs almost as much as the pressure to get a job right out of college. Marketing makes it impossible to think about anything else when pink and red cut-out hearts are shoved in your face the second you enter any store. However, spending Valentine’s Day single isn’t that bad once you think about the secret perks of being unattached.

Money is the basis of Valentine’s Day. Couples go out of their way to buy big and fancy gifts for their significant others and then drop more bucks on an even fancier restaurant. The pressure to buy women nice jewelry or men nice cologne can really put a dent in one’s pocket.

Probably the best perk of being single is having the freedom to buy stuff just for you without feeling guilty. Single people are awarded the opportunity to enjoy discounted chocolates, restaurant specials and clothing deals all for their own indulgence. Last year, Dairy Queen even introduced a Single’s Blizzard for people flying solo on Valentine’s Day. No need to worry about your significant other hogging the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Being single on Valentine’s Day means finally being able to treat yourself with no selfish feelings.

However, you don’t even have to spend money at all. Spoiling yourself feels great, but you can do that any day. Being single on this amped-up day means if you don’t want to spend money on anything, including yourself, then you don’t have to. We are awarded the grand pleasure of doing absolutely nothing on Valentine’s Day and it being completely acceptable. All of your taken friends might be out on romantic dates, but you can stay in and binge-watch a show on Netflix.

Just because you’re single doesn’t mean you have to be alone. College is filled with single people, so there is always the opportunity for a Pal-entine’s Day. Take the group out on a fun adventure, or stay in and have a horror movie marathon. Whatever your single crew decides on, you are bound to have fun just hanging out and being carefree together. The best part about this group date over a two-person date is that there’s no pressure. Everyone is there to have a good time and pig out on heart-shaped chocolates.

Granted, listening to friends in a relationship talk about their romantic outings with their partners can sometimes turn envious. However, just remember the drama your friends sometimes deal with during their relationships and the lack of drama you’re blessed with for being single.

Valentine’s Day gives this false presumption that all couples are happy and in love all the time because they get their own day to spoil each other, but every day should be like that for couples. If I was in a relationship where we only spoiled each other on one day out of 365, then I’d much rather be single. Remembering that Feb. 14 is just another day on the calendar makes getting through this day a little bit easier.

Regardless of your situation on Valentine’s Day, don’t stress about it. The whole point of the holiday was to scam people into spending a lot of money, so just spend the day having fun no matter what your relationship status is.

Kick back and watch the Devils game on Valentine’s Day (which I will not be doing because I bleed black and orange like a true girl from South Jersey) or let loose in the city with people you care about. Maybe your parents will send you flowers like mine do, or maybe your friends will send you silly Valentine’s cards in the mail. Despite the pressure to be committed on Feb. 14, you can still have fun being single and spending the day blessing yourself with some self-love.